Vacancy Announcement

Civil Engineer for The Economic Inclusion of Refugees and Host Communities project Special Initiative Refugee (SI Refugee)

 The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. GIZ has worked in Rwanda for over 30 years. The primary objectives between the Government of Rwanda and the Federal Republic of Germany are poverty reduction and promotion of sustainable development. To achieve these objectives, GIZ Rwanda is active in the sectors of Decentralization and Good Governance, Economic Development and Employment Promotion, Energy and Information and Communications Technology.

The Economic Inclusion of Refugees and Host Communities project (Special Initiative Refugee) is a joint Rwandan-German Development Cooperation project implemented by GIZ, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project aims to improve the economic inclusion of residents of Mahama, Mugombwa and Kigeme Refugee Camps and neighbouring communities. The project facilitates interventions in the following fields of action: (1) improvement of framework conditions at national and local level, (2) business start-ups and expansions particularly in the refugee camps and surrounding areas, (3) professional development for young refugees and the youth from neighbouring communities and (4) psychosocial support for those in need.

To oversee the construction of two markets funded by the project and implemented by Nyamagabe district and Gisagara district, we are looking to recruit a Civil Engineer to support the SI Refugee team. The position will be based in Huye, while the construction sites will be in Mugombwa (Gisagara) and Kigeme (Nyamagabe).

Location: Huye.

Fixed Term: one year (01.02.2021 – 31.01.2022)

1.    Responsibilities

 The Civil Engineer is responsible for:

• Supporting the District teams in preparing the design, cost estimations, tendering, implementation and monitoring of the construction projects of Nyamagabe and Gisagara market construction projects on behalf of SI Refugee
• Establishing and ensuring smooth coordination between the project, the Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA) and the respective district authorities
• Supervising the construction process to ensure compliance with Government of Rwanda and GIZ standards
• Being the focal point from SI Refugee project for the market construction projects ensuring that construction activities are in line with project objectives
• Providing technical advice to the District teams on the design of a sustainable management model and innovative concepts for integrating livelihoods initiatives around the construction projects
• Renders other services and tasks as may be assigned by the head of Construction Unit in GIZ head quarters
• Keeping an overview on the two construction measures by developing a tracking system for the two construction projects
• Keeping record of all construction measures and uploading all essential documents to GIZ’s Document Management System (DMS) on a regular basis

2.    Tasks

 The Civil Engineer performs the following tasks:

• Check the submitted design of all projects and finalize required planning documents
• Support the tendering processes with both districts of Nyamagabe and Gisagara for construction companies and supervision companies
• Management of all office and site activities related to the construction projects on behalf of SI Refugee
• Monitoring and supervising of projects and report to the project manager ensuring quality, time and costs of construction
• Perform structural analysis calculations, develop/maintain standard specification sheets, assess civil and structural design and cost surveys when applicable
• Technical coordination with all disciplines related to the construction projects optimizing the design and implementation of livelihood promotion activities
• Participation of cost saving approaches to the overall project
• Preparing periodic progress reports and ensure timely implementation of activities
• Any other duties and tasks at the request of the project manager

3.    Required qualifications, competences and experience

• University degree in civil engineering or architecture

Qualifications and professional experience

• Minimum of five years’ experience working on construction sites as project engineer/supervisor
• Site management experience under challenging conditions.
• Experience with structural calculations and design for civil engineering
• Experience with integrating livelihood initiatives around construction

 Other knowledge, additional competences

• Finely tuned organisational skills and ability to work on one’s own initiative under pressure and considerable time constraints
• Able to work under little supervision but at the same time being a real team player
• Quick learner; affinity to numbers as well as good understanding why details matter
• Persistent and focused on the tasks, but at the same time creative and open mindedCompetent with MS Outlook, Power point, Word and Excel and any other software that may be relevant for overseeing the construction projects
• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent knowledge of English, orally and written; ability to express oneself in clear sentences with relevant context; being able to write English with rigour and precision in grammar and spelling is an absolute must
• Excellent knowledge of Kinyarwanda

Interested candidates should submit their application (motivation letter, updated CV, certificates and references) until 10^th December 2020 at 4:00 PM, by e-mail to 

[email protected] The email attachment (max. size 2 MB) should be a PDF file. Please quote the job title in the subject

GIZ is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified candidates. This includes the provision of reasonable accommodation, if needed, in order to participate in the job application and interview process and to perform essential job functions. Please, let us know if you have any particular requirements should you be invited for assessment/interview or that you wish us to take into account when considering your application. Women and persons with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply.